Ugunskrusts

Ugunskrusts (Latvian for 'fire cross', 'cross of fire'; other names — pērkonkrusts ('cross of thunder', 'thunder cross), cross of Perkūnas, cross of branches, Cross of Laima) is the swastika as a symbol in Latvian folklore.

The swastika is an ancient Baltic thunder cross symbol (pērkona krusts; also fire cross, ugunskrusts), used to decorate objects, traditional clothing and in archaeological excavations.^[1]^[2]^[3] Latvia adopted the swastika, for its Air Force in 1918/1919 and continued its use until the Soviet occupation in 1940.^[4]^[5] The cross itself was maroon on a white background, mirroring the colors of the Latvian flag. Earlier versions pointed counter-clockwise, while later versions pointed clock-wise and eliminated the white background.^[6]^[7] Various other Latvian Army units and the Latvian War College^[8] (the predecessor of the National Defence Academy) also had adopted the symbol in their battle flags and insignia during the Latvian War of Independence.^[9]

A stylised fire cross is the base of the Order of Lāčplēsis, the highest military decoration of Latvia for participants of the War of Independence.^[10] The Pērkonkrusts, an ultra-nationalist political organisation active in the 1930s and its successors in the 1990s–2010s, also used the fire cross as one of its symbols.